Fri, 16 Mar 2007

General Anthroposophical Society expels 44 members of “Living the Christmas Conference”

DORNACH (NNA) – The General Anthroposophical Society (GAS) at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland, has announced the expulsion of 44 of its members because of their concurrent membership of the “Living the Christmas Conference” grouping. The expulsions will take effect from the end of the Society’s annual general meeting on 31 March.

In a statement published today in the society’s newsletter, “Nachrichten für Mitglieder” (News for Members), the executive council accuses the members of the group of having waged a negative campaign against the GAS which had begun to sap the strength of the society. As a consequence, the council had been forced to act.

“In our understanding of anthroposophy and the Anthroposophical Society, differing views are as much to be welcomed as constructive criticism and a culture of dialogue to resolve conflicts,” the statement says.

“But when negative criticism becomes a matter of principle, when a conflict has lasted for almost twenty years and starts to paralyse the life of the society, then it is our responsibility, as the executive council, to act.

“After many years of trying, we no longer see any hope that there might be a possibility of reaching an understanding with the members connected with ‘Living the Christmas Conference’”, the statement adds.

The moves to expel the members were initiated before Christmas with a letter inviting them to resign or face expulsion (for full text see the end of this report). At the same time the council offered each individual member concerned the opportunity of a hearing to explain their position.

According to GAS spokesman Wolfgang Held, the date when the expulsions take effect at the end of this year’s annual general meeting was deliberately chosen to counter any accusation by the grouping that it was to be silenced before then. This would enable them to have their say once more.

A total of 46 letters were sent out, but two members distanced themselves from the splinter group and were therefore not included in the expulsions. Following the hearings, a further letter was sent out on 14 March notifying the members of their expulsion.

“Living the Christmas Conference” accuses the executive council of failing to produce any concrete evidence against individual members and merely making “unfounded” allegations against the grouping.

“In the hearings in January and February 2007, the executive council was unable to show behaviour by any of the members concerned which was in conflict with the tasks and aims of the General Anthroposophical Society,“ the grouping says in first response to the expulsions.

“On the contrary, the deep connection of the members concerned with the Anthroposophical Society and the impulse of the Christmas Conference clearly emerged in the discussions.”

However, the executive council counters that membership of a grouping which attacks the GAS in the destructive and personalised way that “Living the Christmas Conference” has done in itself makes the members liable and shows their support for it: “They are members of an organisation which for 18 years has polemicised in publications and on the Internet against the Anthroposophical Society. Some do it at the general assembly, others in other ways. But as long as they are a member of the organisation they have to bear some of the responsibility,” Held said.

The statement describes the grouping as an initiative of Werner and Michæla Jordan, who had left the GAS in 1989 and had since then gone about demonising the executive council.

The executive council accuses „Living the Christmas Conference“ members of having tried to dominate proceedings at annual general meetings and similar occasions to the detriment of everyone else. Despite representing no more than about 50 members out of 50,000, the group had submitted a majority of motions at such meetings since 1999.

Of a total of 57 motions from members put at AGMs of the society from 1999-2006, 36 came from supporters of “Living the Christmas Conference”, 21 from all other members.

Despite the fact that these many motions and the insistence on votes had led to the necessity of much more formal procedures at these events, it was „Living the Christmas Conference“ which was accusing the executive council of leaving too little time for real dialogue: “The contradiction in such behaviour is just as apparent as the growing disenchantment among the other members with such behaviour,” the statement says.

“For many members attendance at the AGMs has simply become an embarrassing experience,” it adds.

When the Swiss Anthroposophical Society expelled the members of “Living the Christmas Conference” in 2002, “we still hoped for co-existence and did not take the same decision with regard to their membership of the General Anthroposophical Society.” But their paralysing activity continued despite many attempts at dialogue, the executive council says.

A petition, supported by 850 members from Switzerland, had called for the expulsion of the members associated with “Living the Christmas Conference”. Of course there were also other voices who saw things differently or who understandably had fundamental concerns about any expulsions: “We considered and discussed these views and possibilities in detail,” the statement says.

As a consequence, the executive council will present the following resolution to the AGM at the end of March: “Membership of the General Anthroposophical Society is incompatible with belonging to ‘Living the Christmas Conference - Society for the Preservation of the General Anthroposophical Society of 1923 and 1925’”.

Life in the society was being paralysed by the members of the group through their intolerant and formalistic actions. Indeed, the full title of the grouping indicated how they thought themselves in sole possession of the truth, the statement says.

The resolution was not intended to exclude people because they held different views, but it was a matter of standing up to the attacks instigated by “Living the Christmas Conference“ on the Anthroposophical Society, the statement concludes.

However, the matter is not expected to end there, with further legal action anticipated as a result of the expulsions. “But at least the matter will then have been removed from the body of the Anthroposophical Society and relegated to the sidelines,” Held said.

END/nna/cva

Full text of letter:

Dear Member,

The Executive Council of the General Anthroposophical Society recommends that you resign from the Society. Should you do so, we request that you send us your resignation in accordance with Section 5, Clause 1 of the Statutes.

Should you not wish to follow our recommendation, the Executive Council intends to expel you from the Society in accordance with Section 5, Clause 2 of the Statutes.

You have the opportunity to response by 5 January 2007 before such a decision is taken. If you would like a personal hearing, please let us know by the same date. In that event, the hearing would take place at the Goetheanum on 15 or 16 January 2007.

You belong to a grouping which for some time now, and sometimes in a polemical manner, has attacked the General Anthroposophical Society from outside and burdened it from within.

Since 1993, these attacks from without have largely appeared in the periodical “Gelebte Weihnachtstagung” and, since 2002, on the website www.888GOYA.org. In both these places, two persons appear who resigned from the society in 1989 and who have since then attacked it from the outside as important opinion formers. They are Werner and Michæla Jordan from Horgen.

The strain on our society from within arises from the excessive number of motions and calls for votes at certain meetings, by which means the grouping is trying to determine the course of the meeting and monopolise the discussion contrary to the intentions of the Executive Council and the majority of the members.

We look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,

On behalf of the Executive Council

Paul Mackay, Dr.  Heinz Zimmermann

x x x x x

Item: 070316-01EN Date: 16 March 2007

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